Most of us are aware that the greenhouse effect is rapidly becoming a serious
threat to our climate. There is widespread agreement that it is the reason
we lost almost one-third of all our grains in 1988, and were not able to
produce enough wheat, corn, etc. to feed ourselves. The greenhouse effect
is caused partly by human activities-burning fossil fuels, cutting down the
rainforests, etc., which put into the atmosphere carbon dioxide and other
gases that trap additional heat from the sun, creating a kind of greenhouse.
It is also happening because many of the earth's forests are dying from both
man-made (pollution, acid rain) and natural causes.

Much of the minerals in the earth's soil have been gradually eroded away
since the last ice age. Since minerals (iron, calcium, etc.) are essential
nutrients for every form of life, the world's forests have been weakening
and dying for hundreds of years. When the glaciers build up during each ice
age, they grind up the rocks in their path into a fine dust called "loess."
This rock dust is then carried by water and wind to many parts of the earth.
Since rocks are made of minerals, this is how the essential minerals are
returned to the soil, and the forests become revitalized once again. Experimental
studies have shown that remineralizing the soil with finely ground gravel
dust triples or quadruples the growth rate of plants! By grinding up mixed
gravels (which contain the full spectrum of minerals) into a dust as fine
as talcum powder so they can be made use of quickly by the plants, and by
spreading this dust by airplane, blower-truck and every conceivable means
over most of the world's remaining forests, the forests will become rejuvenated.

We also need to plant vast quantities of new, fast-growing species of trees
on remineralized soil. As the revitalized forests thrive and spread, they
will consume much of the excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, reducing
the green house effect substantially. This will decrease the threat of a
global food emergency which is now threatening us, and give us time to develop
ways of conserving energy, much more efficient machines, and nonpolluting
energy sources.

Remineralizing agricultural soils will enable us to grow much more food,
enough to stockpile to get us through the coming climate crisis. It will
also replace all the chemical fertilizers and pesticides which are poisoning
the earth, the rivers, the farmers and ourselves. Remineralizing the soil
produces plants so well nourished and hardy they can resist most insects
all by themselves. They are also better able to withstand climatic extremes,
including heat, cold and drought, all the things which now threaten our ability
to grow enough food.

Remineralizing most of the forests of the world and planting billions of
new trees is obviously a major project, but it is well within our industrial
capabilities. It will cost about what the world spends on weapons and military
activities every two years. There is evidence that it must be done quickly
if we want to maximize our chances of stabilizing the climate before millions
more of us starve to death, this time in every region of the earth. We know
what to do, and we can afford it. Have we got the will to live? -Reprinted
from The Journal of Borderland Research